The devil inside
by FFomni
Summary: When the devil emerges who will be the one to save a dying heart?
1. Default Chapter

The devil inside

By FFomni

Chapter one

"Just my luck," came a petulant retort from the driver's seat. "Trust that little bitch to ruin my vacation. I could be in Costa but no, here I am in Junon."

This comment earned Cid a smack on the back of his head. He turned to the back of the car to growl an unintelligible response at Tifa but the sudden turning of the car made him think twice.

"What was that for?" he yelled.

"That's for insulting Yuffie. And this," she smacked him again, "is for yelling at me."

Cid dropped his ever-present cigarette on his lap. He swatted his legs until it was put out.

"Damn it woman, I'm driving here."

A forced laugh erupted from the blond beside him.

"You call that driving? Even Reno drives better than this. And quit bitching. It's not our fault the brat's missing."

Elena watched the falling rain hit the window beside her and sighed. She made a mental note to remind herself to ask Reno why they were working with Avalanche. Sure, Godo paid them well enough, but Avalanche? Two years ago if someone said they would be working with Avalanche, she would laugh in their faces and shoot them for making such a ridicule suggestion. Funny how fate works.

A week ago they had received a call from Godo saying that Yuffie was missing. She was in Junon for about a month before her father lost contact with her. As usual , Godo didn't know what she was doing there, only that she was _helping a friend_. He had also contacted Avalanche, who naturally, performed to the goody-two-shoes status and came to the rescue. So now, Elena, Cid and Tifa were going to check her apartment, Reno and Rude (she still wanted to know why those two went together while she babysat the twerps) went to a bar where she used to hang out and Barrett and Nanaki went to check out… the local materia stores. It was a stupid idea but with Yuffie, they never knew.

Only Cloud and Vincent were missing.

Vincent left shortly after the destruction of meteor and Cloud didn't wait much longer. He tried to stay with Tifa for a while but it just wasn't in his blood to stay in the same place for a long time. Perhaps it was an effect of spending five years in a trapped jar, on a dusty cellar. He became a mercenary, just like Zack wanted to. Every month he stopped by Kalm to visit Tifa, until about three months ago.

He went to her house, stoic as usual and didn't speak a word. They had dinner, she tried to speak to him and finally she gave up. She woke up in the morning to find the blankets in the same place she had put them the night before, and his Ultima Sword leaning against the wall. She also found a note that read:

_Take care of her. She helped us out once and I may need her again._

_I'm sorry for hurting you_

_Cloud_

They never heard from him again.

Reno's eyes surveyed the room as his partner questioned the barmaid. After a short "persuasive conversation" one of Yuffie's old acquaintances told them she used to hang out on this bar whenever she stayed in Junon.

_Godo would surely have a heart attack if he saw this place._ Reno grinned.

Leaning against the bar he looked at his surroundings. It used to be a fishermen-bar a few decades ago and almost nothing had changed. Rickety chairs and wooden tables that were placed on a disorganized manner, the few fishing trophies and old photos that lined the beat-up walls and the two light bulbs that hung unprotected by the roof gave it a somewhat _vintage_ look.

Almost every patron was over fifty, had long beards and a rotund beer-belly. Cups seemed to be banned from the place as every drink was served on an obscure jug.

As it seemed the only thing that changed since the old fishing days was the conversation. Since Shinra established its offices in Junon, the water had turned from crystal blue to foamy green, which did not go well with sub aquatic health.

The only thing that caught Reno's attention was a figure by the back door covered by a hooded black coat. Usually, since it was raining, that wasn't enough to catch his attention. However this figure seemed to be intent on watching them yet, careful enough to divert his gaze whenever he was looking.

Reno stared a little longer at the figure until he, or her, stood up. He dropped a few coins on the table end exited the bar through the back doors. Reno shot a glance at Rude, but the man didn't see him.

After a moment of hesitation Reno left the bar searching for the other man.

The rain fell heavily on him, swiftly turning his blue suit on a shiny black. He looked around and saw the hooded figure walk in the direction of the bridge. The waves loomed furiously below the old bridge. Only the occasional thunder let Reno see where his prey was.

"Hey pal!" he called.

The figure kept walking towards the middle of the bridge.

"Hey you! Wait up!"

Reno ran to catch up but carefully enough to avoid slipping on the wet concrete. He was about to put his hand on the stranger's shoulder when he spoke for the first time.

"Touch me and that hand will never touch anything ever again," he said without turning around. (1)

Reno stood astounded, his left arm high in the end, but the look on his face turned to one of anger.

_How can a street thug dare to challenge me! Bun that voice sounded strangely familiar._ He thought.

So he took a step back and as he pulled his wet mass of red hair back, he pulled his nightstick out with his right hand and charged it.

"Why don't you turn around now?" he said after making sure the man had heard the high hum of his nightstick.

The man turned around with a small dagger on his right hand.

_Damn, I still can't see his face._

"How's that little kitchen knife gonna protect you against this?" he grinned as he waved his weapon a little.

"It won't. This will," the stranger raised his right arm a little and the sleeve of the black hood fell down revealing a shiny blue Bolt Armlet rimmed with materia.

_Fuck! This is gonna complicate things a bit._

His musings were suddenly interrupted as the stranger shot towards him. Reno managed to dodge just in time. He tried to hit his opponent in the head but he just dodged. After a few minutes in which none successfully hit the other, Reno thought he had enough. Charging his nightstick he lunged forwards. His opponent saw an opening and went for it.

As Reno felt the blade make a shallow cut on his shoulder he spun around, taking the knife he always carried on his nightstick holster and went for the other man's neck.

Expecting to feel the blade slicing through flesh, Reno was a little surprised when he heard a clang of metal against metal. Golden metal knives blocked the way of his knife. Five of them to be accurate. Backing away, Reno saw that the knives weren't knives at all. Instead of a hand the stranger had a golden claw attached to his left arm. A name rushed suddenly to his head.

"Valentine?"

The stranger chuckled.

"I'm afraid we have to part now. If you are wise I would leave the matter alone. Yuffie is our matter not yours. I heard the Turks were doing fine so you shouldn't need Godo's money." The stranger backed away to the railing of the bridge. "Tell Godo that Yuffie will be home soon."

And he jumped off the bridge.

Reno ran to the railing but as he looked down, only the black ocean greeted his sight.

"Fuck, that guy pisses me off," he grunted and leaned against the railing. He let his head fall back as the rain stroked his face. His PHS rung.

"Yeah?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Elena's whiny voice complained.

"Taking a sun-bath," he tried to sound nonchalant. "Why?"

"We've had some company. Vincent Valentine was in her apartment and ran off as soon as we got in."

_AN: I know it's a crappy chapter but it's my first fic so bear with me. Reviews would be greatly appreciated as well as constructive criticism. Also forgive me for the bad spelling or grammatical errors but English is not my first language._

_(1): my humble way of paying homage to a great movie. That was Trinity's line in Matrix: Reloaded. Mail me ffomni(at)hotmail(dot)com_

_FFomni_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Devil Inside**

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. The characters and places belong to Square-Enix. I'm not making any money out of this so don't bother suing.

_Italics_ - Thoughts, sounds…

**Chapter two**

A cold wetness brought her from the swirling black of her dreams. She brought a hand to her forehead, trying to calm the pulsating migraine that throbbed within her head. Realising she was laying on hard floor the young girl rolled to her back and tried to open her eyes.

"Kuso!" she groaned.

Yuffie wiped the drool from her chin and looked around her.

She was inside a small cell. The walls were bare grey concrete. A barred window graced the wall beside her, high above her head. On the opposite wall a solid metal door stood between the ninja and her freedom. Her left leg was tangled on a white, smelly blanket so he realised she must have fallen from the cot beside her, though further inspection told her it wasn't much softer than the ground.

She had been stripped down of her clothes and armour, and now wore a traditional Wutaiese kimono. Except it was completely white.

A sea breeze descended from the window, along with the sound of furious waves. Only then she realised that the room temperature was a little above freezing. Grabbing the blanket from ground she sat on the cot.

Taking deep breaths and concentrating, Yuffie felt her migraine was receding and her mind becoming one with her new environment.

Not many people could tell just by looking at her, but Yuffie had a control over her mind the surpassed even that of high-skilled ninjas. Shutting of her other senses, the young ninja concentrated all her power on her hearing.

_Wind blowing against the building._

_Tap._

_Waves crashing down below._

_Tap, tap._

_Thunder roaring high in the sky._

_Tap, tap, tap._

_Footsteps. Someone favouring one leg._

A grin came to her face despite the situation.

_It's the bastard alright._

The door opened and a silver haired man came into the room. He was covered by a white trench coat that was soaked in water. His hair reached his waist, but was strangely dry.

"Miss Yuffie Kisaragi. Hajimemashite," the man greeted with a small bow.

Yuffie didn't bother openeing her eyes.

"Were you always a bastard or is it just the Jenova in you?"

* * *

"Dammit Reno, I told you he couldn't be Valentine. We saw him here!" Elena was trying to figure out if it ripping out Reno's hair and strangling him with it was a good idea.

"Well, I saw him too. Come on, how many guys are out there that have a claw on their left hand?" Reno replied.

After his encounter with the hooded stranger, they all came back to Yuffie's apartment. Barrett and Nanaki were still on their way to the apartment.

"You mean you didn't even see his face!" Elena was crawling up the walls.

"Well, no. But I did recognize his voice from somewhere… I think…".

Reno was sitting on Yuffie's couch, his feet propped on the coffee table. The apartment was surprisingly clean, since it was Yuffie's after all. They were all in the living room, waiting for their comrades. It was scarcely furnished, having only a couch, a chair, the coffee table and a large bookshelf. Not even a television. The bookshelf was stacked with books about materia, everything from its origins, uses, forms and growth. The walls were bare, without a single painting. A door led to the kitchen, pristine white with lime green cupboards. A wooden table with an empty fruit-basket rested on the middle, with four chairs. A quick inspection to the fridge revealed the only clue that Yuffie did live on that flat. It was completely packed with days-old junk food, varying from pizza, burgers and takeout Chinese and Indian. The bathroom was small, with a small tub and a small cabinet. The two bedrooms were also tidy. One had a king sized bed, with a large wardrobe, a nightstand and a chest of drawers. A TV rested on top of it. The other room had two single beds, a small wardrobe and two nightstands. Tifa was currently inspecting the rooms.

"Hey guys, come here!" she called.

Rude and Elena entered the room. Tifa stood in front of the small wardrobe.

"The other room is Yuffie's. It's full of her clothes. This one… well, just look."

She opened the wardrobe. It was full of men's clothes.

"Whoa, seems like your little Miss Ninja Princess of The House of Thievery was having some fun," Elena grinned.

Tifa shot her a dark look.

"Come on, let's wait till Nanaki arrives. He should be able to tell us more about this."

When they reached the living room, Cid was trying to pull something from the doorframe using his Venus Gospel, while Reno was peeking over his shoulder. He managed to pull the object from the doorframe without adding further damage. He couldn't however, avoid hitting Reno on the nose with the flat of his blade.

Reno jumped back grabbing his bleeding nose with both of his hands and hit the bookshelf that began to tilt. Rude and Tifa caught it on midair, preventing it from hitting Elena. All of the books fell on top of her, and as she was about to shoot both of Reno's eyes, something caught her attention. A single book stood on the almost horizontal bookshelf.

* * *

Jim was sitting on his small Materia shop, moving the antenna of his small TV, which he kept hidden under the counter.

"Damn weather! Like the business isn't bad enough without the sky falling on our heads," he grumbled.

His store was wedged between two large and decrepit apartment buildings, and was in no better conditions. Well, it was fairly good for the rent he paid for it.

The jingle of the little bell above the door caught his attention. Shivering from the cold outside, the back an oversized dark man came into view. He took of his coat and turned around, coat hanging on his right hand.

"Hi," the stranger greeted.

A shudder ran through Jim's spine, as if he knew the man was bad news. He had a feeling this man was not to be disturbed.

As the man walked to the counter, a flash of red appeared before him.

A cat/ dog/ lion/ tiger thing walked casually through the small space and began sniffing the floor, leaving wet puddles everywhere.

"Excuse me but have you seen this girl recently?" the man slipped a photo towards him.

_Oh, fuck!_

He knew she would be trouble the moment he had set eyes on her materia. He just _knew_. But they were so… perfect. Three mastered elemental materia were too much for his consciousness to handle.

A look of apprehension flashed through his face, but it did not go unnoticed.

The dark man leaned forward over the counter and shot him a darker look.

"Never seen her before," he answered.

"Oh really? Why don't you take another look?" he growled.

He looked at the picture again.

"Nop," he said, hoping to sound casual.

He almost thought the man had believe him but then, the cat/ dog/ lion/ tiger thing came to his side of the counter, piercing him with an one-eyed yellow stare.

"I'm terribly sorry, but my nose begs to differ," it spoke. "From the intensity of her scent on those Mastered materia, I would say she was here probably seven, eight days ago. Unless they were stolen…"

Jim started at the deep growl and stared in awe at the animal.

"It spoke! He… I… but it… and…"

"I'm going to ask again," the man said. "Have you seen her?"

Jim looked at the cat/ dog/ lion/ tiger thing and swallowed hard.

"Uhh yes… she was here about eight days ago and sold me some high level materia. She didn't stay long though, said she had to be somewhere…" he trailed off.

"Where was she going?" The beast asked.

"I d…don't remember.."

The man then took his coat and put it on the counter. Attached to his right arm was a…

_Is that a freaking gun-arm!_

"Think harder."

"She was going to catch a boat to Mideel. Said she had to go quickly. She only had a few minutes." He said quickly. "It was about six o'clock." He added, anticipating the following question.

The beast grinned at him (_It grins!_) and they left without another word.

_That's it. I'm going home…_

* * *

"What the…"

Barrett and Nanaki had just arrived on Yuffie's apartment and wondered if they were on the right place.

Cid was leaning against casually the wall, Venus Gospel in one hand, and a small metallic object on the other. His ever present cigar was dangling from his lips. He was studying the object attentively, and detached from his surroundings.

Reno had one hand on a purpling eye, while the other was balled in a fist, gesturing towards Cid and cursing in several languages. His collar was being held by Elena, who was, apparently trying to suffocate him.

Rude was holding Elena on his arms, preventing her from asphyxiating Reno, while his back supported a falling bookshelf. Tifa was holding the bookshelf as well, trying to put her bodyweight to use.

After everyone had calmed down, they all sat on the living room to discuss their situation.

"So, if I understood it right, you were both attacked by Vincent, at exactly the same hour, at two different places." Barrett tried to sum it up as best as he could, to avoid a new confrontation.

"Except, ours was the real Vincent." Cid spoke. "Theirs was someone else."

Reno was quick to oppose.

"And how do you know that, Oh Exhaust Pipe?"

"Because Carrot-top, this is a bullet from Vincent's gun. He makes them himself. And you didn't see his face. We saw him." Cid threw the bullet on the table.

"But I did recognize his voice from somewhere…" Reno trailed off.

Nanaki walked into the room, as he was the only one missing.

"I've been to the rooms. The clothes are definitely Vincent's. But…" he hesitated and looked at Tifa.

A shudder ran down her spine.

"What?"

"They have also Cloud's scent on them."

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter (yes, all three of you :D ). Also, forgive me for the late update. I'm on my first year of Uni and the workload just caught up with me suddenly. Exams are here, but in approximately one month, I will have an internet connection at home! So with summer vacations and internet at home, this will definitely pick up soon. Please review!

Mail me ffomni(at)hotmail(dot)com

FFomni


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